HERSHEY - A year ago, Marian's Tina Capparell left the PIAA Cross Country Championships knowing what she wanted.

Pleasant Valley's Seth Slavin also had a target in mind, one that he had been focused on since first coming to Hershey in middle school.Saturday, both got what they had been chasing.Capparell, who took 18th last year and 16th as a freshman, turned in her best performance in her third straight trip to the state meet, placing fifth in the Class 1A girls race with a time of 19:26. After taking 29th last fall, Slavin crossed the line 16th (16:23) in the Class 3A boys' race to earn his first state medal in his fourth try."I had mentioned last year that my goal was to get top five and I did it," Capparell said after the race. "So I'm really happy with it."For Slavin, a moment years in the making more than met his expectations."I came here in eighth grade and watched Tony Russell finish and destroy it," Slavin said of the two-time state champion from West Chester Henderson's win in 2012. "It was cold and my hands were frozen, with my dad on my side he said, 'You're going to be here one day.'"This gap - five years - has now been closed and I'm finally here."Capparell missed significant time this season due to illness, but has flourished in recent weeks, placing second at the Schuylkill League meet and winning her third straight District 11 Class 1A crown last week.Despite the recent run of success, Capparell still felt as though she might have been capable of more this season."Yes and no," Capparell said when asked if having a late start to the season helped her. "I feel like I lost a lot."But I'm getting it back every race."Saturday, Capparell hit the mile mark in fourth, and was third at the two-mile before sliding into fifth behind winner Sera Mazza (19:17) of St. Joseph's Catholic and Pine Grove's Christina DiFalco (19:22), who surged into second place."I just wanted to have my eye on the leader the whole time, that was my goal. I just wanted to keep my eyes on her," Capparell said of her strategy. "And I did. I was top three for a while."And then in the last loop … I just wanted to hang on so I was happy."Like Capparell, Slavin has enjoyed a stellar postseason, winning Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and District 11 Class 3A titles.But he had to make a move to secure his first trip to the podium on Saturday."I've always been worried about the first half, just with all the elbowing and everything," Slavin said of the start of the race. "But when I was racing, I told myself to just get to that second mile, because I knew it was downhill and flat. And when I came through the second mile in I was in 13th at the three mile. So I definitely dropped 17 people in that spot."I think it was good. And I don't know if it was necessarily that I dropped people. I stayed consistent, and the others dropped. I think that's the maturity that I've learned, going through and being able to race consistently, and I had a great result in the end for it."In addition to Slavin, Pleasant Valley's Gabe Sullivan took 75th (17:07) in the Class 3A boys' race.'An end has a start'Though Capparell and Slavin were the only Times News area runners to medal in Hershey, several others were able to close out their careers, or set the foundation for the future, with strong performances, a notion the title of the second album by the British band Editors sums up nicely.Northwestern sophomore Madeline Consuelos placed 36th (20:24) and junior Molly Tarvin 62nd (20:51) in the Class 2A girls' race.Competing at the state meet without a team for the first time since 2010, Consuelos and Tarvin left with extra motivation to return with a full squad next year."I think we definitely grew as a team," Consuelos said of a season that saw the Northwestern girls suffer their first loss since 2010. "I think we forgot what losing feels like, and I think as a group, we all needed that. It made us stronger.""It was a reality check," added Tarvin. "There's competitors out there we have to work hard to beat. And we have to work harder."Tamaqua had a trio of girls in the Class 2A race. Nicole Wasserleben led the way with an 87th place finish in 21:09, while Sarah Maue took 120th and Monika Shimko 140th (21:43)."Around the first mile was when I started calming down," said Wasserleben, competing in Hershey for the first time. "I got more relaxed and knew it was going to be an OK day."I'm pretty proud. I knew as long as I got a good time, the place would be there and I would be proud no matter what."Lehighton senior Cera Gaston placed 109th (21:19) in the Class 2A girls' race, while Pleasant Valley's Lizz Eberhardt finished 80th with a time of 20:14 in the 3A race.The Tigers had two juniors in the Class AA boys' race, as Robert Leiser placed 48th (17:34) and Phillip Castrine 78th (17:53).Leiser's run marked a significant improvement from last year's 152nd-place finish. Castrine was making his first appearance at states."I did a little bit better," Leiser said of a year ago, when his time was 18:21. "I was just hoping to improve on last year, maybe try to get top 50, and that's where I ended up."So it was good. I could have maybe run a smarter race, but it happens."Lehighton senior Michael Blacketter took 82nd (17:54) and Jim Thorpe sophomore Samuel Hydro 213th (19:49) to round out the area contingent in the Class 2A boys' race."It's surprising that this is the last time I will be able to do this. It doesn't feel like it," said Blacketter. "But I'm happy. This is the best I've ever done here."Palmerton's Jake Martinez placed 119th (18:38) and Marian's Aaron Srinivasan 153rd in the Class 1A boys race."It was great to get to states and run against some of the best runners in Pennsylvania," said Martinez, a sophomore. "It was a fantastic experience and a ton of fun. I was just happy I could make it out here."RUBBER MATCH? … DiFalco and Capparell have spent the past two weeks swapping positions. The Pine Grove sophomore won the Schuylkill League title with Capparell finishing second, before the Marian junior captured the District 11 crown with DiFalco earning the runner-up spot the following week.QUITE A RIDE … In addition to Capparell's medal, the Marian girls placed 15th in the Class 1A team standings after winning a district title to cap a stellar campaign in head coach Thomas Kostic's first year in charge of the program. "I never thought we would be here in the beginning, with all the injuries and all the little setbacks we had," Kostic said. "Our freshmen came up really big this year. They really helped out. I couldn't be happier."PIAA CHAMPIONSHIPS(Top 25 in each class medal)BOYSCLASS 3ATEAM SCORES (TOP FIVE)1. Council Rock North 76, 2. Carlisle 118, 3. Downingtown West 158, 4. Seneca Valley 202, 5. La Salle College 204.INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (TOP 5 PLUS LOCALS)1. Noah Affolder (Carlisle) 15:33, 2. Nathan Henderson (JP McCaskey) 15:48, 3. Sam Affolder (Carlisle) 15:50, 4. Zach Lefever (Ephrata) 15:59, 5. Noah Beveridge (Butler) 15:59, 16. Seth Slavin (Pleasant Valley) 16:23, 75. Gabe Sullivan (Pleasant Valley) 17:07.CLASS 2ATEAM SCORES (TOP FIVE)1. Dallas 96, 2. York Suburban 116, 3. South Fayette 122, 4. Harbor Creek 171, 5. Quaker Valley 180.INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (TOP 5 PLUS LOCALS)1. Ben Bumgarner (Waynesburg Central) 16:01, 2. Zach Skolnekovich (Quaker Valley) 16:13, 3. Isaac Davis (Jersey Shore Area) 16:26, 4. Aaron Pfeil 16:28, 5. David Haines (North Pocono) 16:36, 48. Robert Leiser (Northwestern Lehigh) 17:34, 78. Phillip Castrine (Northwestern Lehigh) 17:53, 82. Michael Blacketter (Lehighton) 17:54, 213. Samuel Hydro (Jim Thorpe) 19:49.CLASS 1ATEAM SCORES (TOP FIVE)1. Winchester Thurston 62, 2. Elk County Catholic 110, 3. Seneca 115, 4. Northeast Bradford 123, 5. Montrose 139.INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (TOP 5 PLUS LOCALS)1. Noah Curtin (Mercyhurst Prep) 16:23, 2. Donovan Myers (Seneca) 16:26, 3. Tristan Forsythe (Winchester Thurston) 16:33, 4. Ryan Thrush (Brookville Area) 16:39, 5. Connor Walsh (Cambridge Springs) 16:41, 119. Jake Martinez (Palmerton) 18:38, 153. Aaron Srinivasan (Marian Catholic) 19:02.GIRLSCLASS 3ATEAM SCORES (TOP FIVE)1. Cardinal O'Hara 107, 2. Oakland Catholic 146, 3. Perkiomen Valley 164, 4. State College 189, 5. North Penn 190.IINDIVIDUAL RESULTS (TOP 5 PLUS LOCALS)1. Aislinn Devlin (Downingtown West) 17:44, 2. Clara Savchik (North Allegheny) 17:46, 3. Anna Juul (Unionville) 18:11, 5. Alison Willingmyre 18:23, 80. Lizz Eberhardt (Pleasant Valley) 20:14.CLASS 2ATEAM SCORES (TOP FIVE)1. Villa Maria 107, 2. Quaker Valley 133, 3. Danville 139, 4. Central Cambria 177, 5. Northern York 206.INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (TOP 5 PLUS LOCALS)1. Taryn Parks (Greencastle-Antrim) 18:56, 2. Marlee Starliper (Northern York) 19:00, 3. Rebecca Snyder (Oley Valley) 19:13, 4. Kayla Connelly (Lansdale Catholic) 19:18, 5. Emily Deschler (Allentown Central Catholic) 19:18, 36. Madeline Consuelos (Northwestern Lehigh) 20:24, 62. Molly Tarvin (Northwestern Lehigh) 20:51, 87. Nicole Wasserleben (Tamaqua) 21:06, 109. Cera Gaston (Lehighton) 21:19, 120. Sarah Maue (Tamaqua) 21:29, 140. Monika Shimko (Tamaqua) 21:43.CLASS 1ATEAM SCORES (TOP FIVE)1. St. Joseph's Catholic 103, 2. Elk Lake 103, 3. Marion Center 114, 4. Vincentian Academy 127, 5. Sacred Heart 135, 15. Marian Catholic 305.INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (TOP 5 PLUS LOCALS)1. Sera Mazza (St. Joseph's Catholic) 19:17, 2. Christina DiFalco (Pine Grove) 19:22, 3. Alyssa Campbell (New Brighton) 19:23, 4. Marianne Abdalah (Vincentian Academy) 19:26, 5. Tina Capparell (Marian Catholic) 19:26, 53. Nicole Capparell (Marian Catholic) 21:05, 169. Julia Kreisl (Marian Catholic) 23:44, 176. Natalia Konitzer (Marian Catholic) 24:18, 185. Carolyn Mehallo (Marian Catholic) 24:40, 198. Nicole Jordan (Marian Catholic) 26:05, 211. Andraya Pikitus (Marian Catholic) 28:37.